All I Want For Christmas
by IceArceus
Summary: It's Christmas and Dawn feels that she's missing something important. Amidst the snowflakes and presents and Christmas trees, is there something else she needs? IceArceus Christmas Oneshot 2013.


**A/N: Hello and Merry Christmas! This is the IceArceus Christmas 2013 one-shot. I decided to take some time out of my fic- Lake Valor Grammar- to contribute to the Pokémon fandom Christmas festivities.**

**BTW, I'm using a bit of American English for this since that's how they talk in the anime.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any characters in the story. Neither do I own the song.  
**

**The song I have in mind is "All I want for Christmas" by Mariah Carey. I've taken the lyrics off because I know it's illegal now. I hope you'll listen to it whilst reading because it really does help the mood.**

**All I want for Christmas**

Johanna awoke from her unplanned nap on the sofa in her living room with a start as a loud slam echoed through the Berlitz household. Almost slipping on the carpet and tripping over the sleeping form of Glameow, she quickly ran to the door. She knew who it was…

"Mom! I'm home!"

Her blue haired daughter was standing in the doorway. She was shivering from the cold and she wore a thick red coat with a white scarf, as well as her normal pink boots. Her little Piplup chirped happily from the top of her head. She was back…

"Dawn!"

Dawn grinned widely as she ran to give her mother a fierce hug. She hadn't come home in a long time. It had been half a year since she had last seen her mother, and two years since she had started her journey in Hoenn. Progress was slow. She had obtained five ribbons, but her Grand Festival attempts had been mediocre. The best she had done was get to the quarter finals.

"It's great to be back, Mom."

"I know, sweetie." Johanna tutted at the state of her daughter, her white beanie hat was wonky and she was covered in patches of snow. "I've kept your room clean for you, and I've just put the heat on, so go upstairs and get warm. Or you'll catch a cold."

"Okay!"Dawn put her Poke Balls on the table in the hallway, and put Piplup down, who ran excitedly into the living room, so she would remember to feed them later, and pelted up the stairs and opened the door to her room and flopped on the bed, not caring about her hair for once. She would rearrange it later.

She looked outside her window, which gave a picturesque view of Twinleaf town. It was the day of Christmas Eve, and the houses were covered with snow. There was still light outside, and it glittered off the ice, but it was being rapidly consumed by the night shadows. The trees were bare, and she could see no Pokémon playing outside today. She sighed.

Downstairs after getting changed, Dawn sat on the sofa, sipping her hot chocolate. She saw that her mother had already set up the Christmas tree, and that she had got a real one this year. The smell of the pine needles filled the whole room with a rich and fresh scent. It was decorated with many unique decorations that her mother had collected over the years. A crystal Glameow, and a little wooden Piplup…there were so many different decorations, all of them so beautiful and delicate. The lights on the tree were new too. They shimmered in all sorts of colours, illuminating the tree.

Wow… It really had been a long time. She was glad to be home, but a flicker of sadness still stirred inside her. It had been haunting her for her entire Hoenn journey, apart from a brief time, when she had seen _him _again…

At that moment, her mother walked in.

"Why the long face? It's Christmas Eve! And look," Johanna gestured to the cluster of presents at the foot of the tree, all neatly wrapped in paper of different colours, and the shiny surfaces reflected the light. "You even got a present from May! It arrived a week ago. In fact, most of them are yours."

"I'm not really in the mood, Mom." She replied glumly. Dawn was glad to have received a gift from May, though. She had seen her a few times during her time in Hoenn, and she remembered how nice she had been. They had become relatively good friends, and they always exchanged gifts over the holidays. But May's present just reminded her of a certain someone…

Ash. She had not seen him for over _two years_. It had been _two years_ since she started her journey in Hoenn. _Two years _since they parted ways… She could remember the day he and Brock left for Kanto like yesterday. It was sunset, and although she hid it under her relatively cheerful demeanour, she had felt like her heart had broken in two. Just watching that ferry carry him away… But it was just as sad when she left him in Unova. He had looked the same, as always, with that flashing smile and Pikachu perched on his shoulder. When the she waved goodbye from the plane, she felt like she would never see him again.

"Aww. I'm sure Santa will cheer you up when you find out what present he has for you."

Dawn rolled her eyes. Her and her mother had this running joke about Santa every year. Johanna would always leave Dawn a present in her stocking "from Santa" even though she knew full well Dawn didn't believe in Santa Claus anymore.

"Mom…"She grumbled. But nonetheless, she still grabbed her stocking and hung it on the mantelpiece, where her mother's contest trophies rested. Her stocking had an iron-on image of a Piplup and Pikachu. Oh, the irony. It was like the sock was mocking her.

Speaking of Piplup, it was time to feed the Pokémon. She took her Poke Balls and went outside to her back garden.

She trudged outside, the snow making a crunching sound under her feet. Everything was covered in white, and the main source of light now was the rustic lamp on the side of the house. There was no sign of the pretty flowers her mother planted last year, but a Poinsettia in a pot sat next to the steps from the house, its red leaves arranged in a crown around the small white flowers in the centre.

"Come on out, everyone!"

The hungry cries of the Pokémon filled the air as she quickly filled some bowls with Pokémon food, careful to feed Mamoswine a little way from the rest of them, since the greedy Pokémon always tried to eat everyone else's food. Watching them finish eating, she reached into her Poffin case.

"Alright guys! Some extra special Christmas Poffins for all of you!" Her Pokémon crowded around her in appreciation. But after a few bites and munches, she could see that all her Pokémon looked a bit down. She could guess why.

"Don't worry guys… Even you, Buneary. I know you're all missing Ash and Brock's Pokémon, but I promise you there's no need to worry." She tried to hide her own sadness. Her Pokémon must've picked up on her mood. "Really. I want to see Ash and the others again as much as you do. But just try and enjoy it while we're home okay? You've all worked hard this year. She brought them all in for a hug. "You're they best Pokémon ever!" Even as she enjoyed this moment with her Pokémon, frolicking with them in the snow, she couldn't help wishing that someone else was here with her.

After about half an hour of playing with her Pokémon, she recalled them and went inside. An incident involving Quilava and the wooden fencepost was not something she wanted to happen again today. As she walked back into her house, she noticed something in the doorframe. Its bright green leaves contrasted with the shiny pure white berries. The wing-like leaves had this freshness about them, like it had just been picked.

Like it couldn't get any more depressing. Why would her mother hang some mistletoe in the house?

Johanna saw her looking, and smiled. "It's just for tradition." She laughed. "It's not like I'm going to drag some boy in here and make you kiss him, Dawn…" Her mother smiled teasingly. "Though speaking of Kenny….." She lightly joked.

Dawn hastily went up the stairs before her mother could get any ideas.

"Might as well go to bed…"She mumbled to herself.

It was fully dark outside now, but you could still see the carpet of snow due to the soft moonlight, it's round, full shape but a torch in the dark night sky. It made the snow glitter malevolently, and the dark shapes of the trees taunted Dawn, their bare branches cackling as they brushed together. She felt truly alone.

She had a shower and promptly got dressed in her pyjamas, her tiredness getting the better of her. Piplup settled himself on the purple cushion on her chair next to the dressing table, and Dawn smiled fondly as she watched him fall asleep. She lightly stroked his feathers.

"Sleep tight, Piplup."

She herself got into bed, pulling her feet into the duvet, trying to warm them up. Even though her mother said she had put the heating on, Dawn felt chilled to the bone. It tried to creep into her, trying to steal all the warmth she had. It grasped its cold hands around her. With a sigh, she pictured an image of Ash's warm chocolate brown eyes in her head. They lifted her spirits whenever she was feeling down, and she had seen them so many times, but now that he wasn't here, only now could she come to fully appreciate them. "Ash…"

No matter what she tried, Dawn couldn't go to sleep. She tried to close her eyes, but the lights outside the window made her wake. They flashed in a multitude of colours, and she could hear the children of the town running around, playing. She could see the adults too, watching over their children, and there was also a choir singing carols, while the band played next to them. Of course. The Twinleaf Christmas Eve Festival. Renowned for its good food and infectious joy. It was as though the window separated her completely. She put her palm on its ice cold surface, breathing onto the glass, making a foggy blur. She traced her fingers on it absentmindedly, making little swirls and circles. She turned away and thudded her head back onto the soft pillow.

She looked out of the window, catching sight of a shooting star, its bright trail blazing out behind it as it fell from the sky, dying. It left a smouldering blur in the sky, searing it, cutting it in two. She closed her eyes, and made a wish. No harm in trying, right? She wished as hard as she could, ignoring the childishness of it. She mouthed her wish, not wanting to say it out loud. If anyone heard, the wish wouldn't come true. Everybody knew that.

Gradually, her eyes began to close. She knew she would not dream tonight. Her eyelids felt heavy, and an icy hand gripped her heart. It would be all blackness tonight.

Dawn scrabbled blindly for her slippers as the doorbell repeatedly rang, echoing through the house. She gave an irritable sigh. It was Christmas Day, and she should really be in a better mood, but what she was thinking about last night came back to her in a flood and it repeatedly stabbed her in the heart, cutting it in half, the blood of loss spilling out.

"I'm coming!" She yelled, annoyed.

"Dawn! Get the door!" A tired shout came from Johanna's room.

"Yes, mom!" She grumbled. "I said I was, okay?" No reply. Dawn gave a little smile of amusement when she realized her mother had probably fallen asleep again.

The doorbell rang a few more times, sending Dawn in a flurry, quickly brushing her hair and smoothing her nightgown so she looked at least remotely presentable. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, going to the bathroom quickly and splashing some water in her face. Drying it with a soft pink towel as quickly as possible, she ran down the stairs and threw it into the living room sofa.

She fumbled awkwardly as she tried to find the key. Rifling in her mother's handbag on top of the side table, she dug it out, and stuck it in. The cold from last night had frozen the lock, and she had to fiddle with it before it would turn. Sliding the bolt so that the door would open, she pulled hard on the handle of the cold door. Anticipation burned in her heart. The doorbell was still ringing. Someone this persistent must be someone important.

Her jaw dropped as the figure behind the door was revealed. Stood in front of the beautiful snowy sight was someone she had not seen in a long time. Someone who she had waited for. The winter sun made the snow glisten and it was quiet, since no one was outside yet. It was still lightly snowing, and she shivered, not just from the cold.

"Ash…" She whispered.

Ash grinned. He was wearing the jacket that Dawn's mother had given him from way back. It fit him nicely now, whereas two years ago it had been quite big. Pikachu was perched on his shoulder, but after chirping a quick greeting, he hopped of Ash's shoulder into the house, presumably searching for Piplup and the others. Instead of wearing one of his trademark hats, Ash wore a pair of felt Stantler antlers with little bells attached to the ends. But he still looked just as handsome, and more mature. His untamed raven hair was slightly longer, but it was just as messy as before, just the way she liked it. His brown eyes warmed hers, and sent chills down her smile.

Not being able to wait a moment longer, Dawn threw her arms around him, enveloping him in a hug. They both fell into the snow as Ash lost his balance. Dawn blushed as she realized the proximity, and she saw that her own red cheeks were reflected on his. She pulled him closer to her, ignoring the snowflakes that were falling into her hair.

As they stared into each other's' eyes, taking them in again after their time apart, Ash put his hand to the back of her head and pulled her closer to him. Dawn flushed harder. She had watched the movies. She knew what was coming, but before she could seal the gap, Ash tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and moved his lips close to her ear, and what came out was something that Dawn thought would never happen. Whatever happened to the dense Ash she once knew? She knew she would treasure this moment forever. The snow was falling harder now, but the shimmered in the soft sunlight as the fell. The sky was a warm yellow dawn colour, and its beauty was magnificent.

Dawn felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she felt Ash's hot breath on her ear. "_All I want for Christmas is you."_

**A/N: Merry Christmas! I hope you liked it. Shorter than my LVG chapters, I know, but I didn't have much time this week. I hope you can review, since I always like to know how to improve my writing, and what things I should keep doing. **


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